Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Hild Earnshaw
Summary: I wrote this abridged version of the traditional story to be read and performed in Ethiopian Schools and Colleges. At the time I also showed extracts from the Lord of the Rings films and John Boorman's film Excalibur to give students an idea of the visual setting of the story. I am working on a film of the poem in the style of The Lord of the Rings to be shot in Ethiopia.


**Sir Gawain and the Green Knight**

Arthur, bravest of Britain's bold Kings

Commanded his court at Camelot,

"Bring me Histories of the best and bravest knights".

Many were the strange stories spoken,

Travellers' tales told of distant lands,

But strangest of all was the story of Gawain and the Green Knight.

The court was filled with lords and lovely ladies,

All Camelot was listening to carols at Christmas,

When there came to call a great green giant of a knight.

So long were his legs that no doubt he was the largest man alive,

But more weird and wonderful than his size was his colour

For his hair, face, hands, his clothes, and every part of him were green.

Arthur, fearless equally of friend or foe commanded

The green man to tell why he came to the Court of Camelot.

Then the Green Knight set down his sword and said,

"I wish for no warfare on my word, simply a Christmas game.

If there is any so brave or bold of blood in this house

Let him stand and strike one stroke for another with me."

He stepped up and stared at the knights who stood by the king.

"Should any fellow be so fierce as to test my faith

I will stand while he strikes me first with sword or axe,

Asking only that I may striker him another in return after."

Now the Court of Camelot was quiet, and no one moved

Fearing that the Green Knight was a fiend or fairy of bad faith.

"What! Is this Arthur's hall so fierce in fame and fortune?

Are these benches filled by beardless boys?" said the green man.

Then Gawain the gallant and good knight got up and said:

"Sir you speak in haste, for I will stand and strike the stroke."

Then good Gawain struck off the Green Knight's head,

And ladies fended it off with their feet as it rolled along the floor.

Though the blood burst from his neck blackening his armour

The Green Knight, feared by all, neither faltered nor fell,

But stood straight and strong while ladies lay in a faint at his feet.

Finding the head he picked it up and held it by the hair in his hands,

And challenged Gawain the good and gallant knight:" Come to my hall,

At New Year twelve months from now when I will stand and strike the stroke."

Gallant Gawain, strong in spirit, feared not, but called to the Green Knight

"Where is your country, court, or castle so that I can keep my appointment?"

The Green Knight spoke from a head held high in his left hand:

"I am known to many as the Knight of the Green Chapel which can be found

By all men of courage and faith. Come or be called a coward"

Then with a rude roar he turned and rushed off into the night.

Though men are merry of mood at the start of the year

Time slips by swiftly as the seasons come and go in their turn:

After Christmas comes lean Lenten with its empty plate;

Then as cold creeps from the Earth, and the Clouds are uplifted,

Spring showers shine in the sun, and fair flowers bloom;

Ground and Grove are green in the soft summer breezes.

After summer harvest hurries in and is hastily housed

Before the warning of winter wastes the grain.

Wild winds make war upon the sun and the leaves loosen from the trees.

Now the year runs away in yesterdays soon yellow in the memory.

And as winter comes by the way of the world at all hallows eve

Gallant Gawain must think again of his great purpose.

To Arthur at the Court of Camelot he came saying

"Liege, Lord, let me take my leave I beg you,

I must go forth to my fate without fail in the morning.

God will guide me to the Green Man who I must find."

And all the company of the king came to comfort Gawain,

While much mournful music was made in the hall that night.

Morning came weeping, sad, sorrowful, and too soon,

But now Gringolet was groomed, and Gawain armed with sword and shield,

Spurred his steed and sprang out at such a speed

That flint sparks flashed fiercely from his horse's hooves,

While all who held him so honourable in their hearts

Sighed sadly for Gawain the gallant knight who must now be gone.

Now Gawain rides on in God's care, though no game he found it.

Often after long labours he lodged alone among the rocks,

He had no friend but his horse on forest footpaths and fells,

No mortal man to comfort him on his march across the moors,

And any he met he asked for the knight of the green chapel,

But all said they had never seen a single soul of that colour.

He climbed crumbling cliffs in countries unknown,

And at every wading of water on his way

He faced a foe that he must fight to pass.

So he made war with worms and wolves in dark forests,

With bulls, bears, boars, and ogres on the heights of fells,

And Strong, swift, and sure he did not suffer death or despair.

If war wearied him then the winter was worse,

The cold clear rain froze as it fell on the faded earth

And slain by sleet he slept among the naked rocks in his armour,

Helm on head as icicles hung high all around him.

So in peril and pain he passed his time on paths alone,

Until he came on Christmas Eve to a forest deep and wide.

By his mount on that most merry morning he rode

Past high hills at each hand with huge oaks beneath,

Hazel and hawthorn were huddled and tangled together

With rough ragged moss around them trailing,

And many birds were bleakly sitting on bare twigs

Piteously piping on their perches for the pain of the cold.

Gallant Gawain, that good man on Gringolet groaned,

Praying for a peaceful place to pause on this holy night.

Then he saw a mansion on a low mound marked with a moat,

And choosing by chance the chief pathway to the castle,

He met the lord who welcomed the wanderer warmly

Guiding with gladness the guest to his hall with hospitality.

Gawain gazed at the great man, who greeted him so kindly:

Very long and large, in the prime of his life, he was

And bold as befits the baron of a big castle.

A chair before the chimney where charcoal was burning

Was made ready for the gallant knight, all covered with cushions

Then a cloak was cast about him and he warmed himself by the coals.

Soon servants came and set a table in his honour,

Covered with a clear cloth of the cleanest white.

He washed as he would and then went to his food

While many worthy men with wonder waited on him.

They served soups of many sorts, seasoned most choicely

With many types of fish, some baked in bread, some boiled on coals.

A fair feast he called it after his previous famine,

Then with care and concern the question was carefully put:

"What person was he, a prince who passed this way on some penance?"

He declared courteously that he belonged to the court of Camelot,

And that it was gallant Gawain himself, who was now their guest,

A man who on middle earth was the most admired.

Then his host asked what directive had driven him from home on this date.

Gawain replied he traveled to find the green chapel and told his tale.

the lord laughed as it lay he said just two miles from his gate.

So Gawain by chance came to the end of his quest far from Camelot.

he promised to stop, sleep and stay in the castle until his hour had come,

and the lords and ladies there listened long to his stories.

Next day before first light the court went to hunt

As was their way and left Gawain to stay in sleep and silence,

For he had traveled far along many tiring trails.

The lord left telling his lady to wait on the good knight and

Comfort him with her company until he returned to the court,

Promising that Gawain shall have the catch at the end of the day.

Now in his game the lord goes to the greenwood and Gawain the bold

Stays in sleep, hearing a soft sound at his door secretly opening

As the lady had no mind to let him sleep, and looked into his chamber.

With Her noble face and neck all naked, and her breasts bare,

She came through the chamber door and closed it behind her

Calling to him "ah man how can you sleep when the morning is so clear."

In heavy darkness drowsy dream words he replied saying

How destiny should deliver him to his doom next day at the green chapel,

But so courteously she came and so fair that he cast them aside,

Greeting her graciously with a glad welcome at seeing her so glorious.

The lady came laughingly into the light and lay down and kissed him

And so faultless and fine were her features that joy came into his heart.

Now she pressed him so closely, led him so near the line, that he must

Take her favours or refuse with offence, if he cared for his conduct,

So he turned back all the fond words of favour that fell from her lips.

Saying "God help me! This shall not happen!" "Sorrow be on you!"

She cried "if you do not love one who lies alone" and promised

"Noble knight you have had nothing of mine, But you will take a gift from me."

A rich ring she offered, of red gold, with a stone that shone like a star

But he said "no, I have nothing to return so nothing will I take."

And She sad that he refused said "If the ring is too rich, you will have my favour,

I shall give you my girdle. See how it is small in size but strong in sinew

Whoever keeps it tightly clasped closely about his waist

Cannot be killed by any cunning or craft of hand or heart."

The knight thought this was indeed a prize for his peril and took it,

Promising on his honour to hide his gift from her husband.

Now indoors let him dally and dwell with delight as the day passes

And the lord at last has felled the fox he has followed so long

Hurrying home with the night at hand making strong music on his horns,

To Gawain the Good seated gladly among the ladies by the hearth.

He met the master in the middle of the floor and offered him the kiss

As courtesy demanded, but not the girdle secretly girt about his waist,

And the lord told how he had hunted all day for nothing

But a foul fell fox, showing Gawain the skin of his coat,

While with meat and music they made merry all around

With the laughter of ladies and light words of joy.

Now New Year draws near and the night passes with haste,

Day comes driving out the dark with wild weather on the world.

Snow comes shivering sharp to shrink the grass

While the whistling wind whirls down from the heights.

Long the knight lies listening as he lingers in bed, but now

Gringolet is groomed and to the green chapel he must go.

The bridge is brought down, the broad gates opened, and he crosses the boards,

Going by banks and brooks where the branches are bare,

Climbing cliffs where the cold clings and the mist hangs on the moors,

Till he comes to a bowl, a worn barrow on the brink of a stream,

Nothing but a cave or a cleft in an old crag covered over with grass.

There the green knight waits with his great axe so cruel and cold.

"Gawain!" calls the Green Man, "May god keep you,

I welcome you with a will to my place as you have made your way to me.

You have timed your travels as a trusty man should,

And kept your agreed appointment. Now we are alone in this valley,

Here we may play as we like; there are no people to part us,

Heave off your helmet and have your pay without delay."

Gallant Gawain did not fail. With a nod of his neck he

Let the bare flesh appear, and would not by dread be taken

Or give any sign of fear. Then the Green man gathered up the axe,

Shaped a mighty stroke as if to strike him down.

Had it been delivered then no doubt that he would have died,

But Gawain shrank from the blade with his shoulders and it stopped.

"You're not Gawain who is so good reported", said the Green Man,

"Who never flinched from foe on fell or dale,

But now flees in fear before he ever feels a pain?"

Then Gawain stood again, and the green man lightly lifted his weapon

Letting it down with the blade bent towards the neck that was bare. But

Though he hewed a hammer blow it struck him no more than to slice the skin.

When the good knight saw the gore that gleamed in the snow

He sprang out on his spurs a spears length or more,

Putting on his helm in haste he faced his foe,

And shot under his shield with a shake of his shoulders.

Now brandishing his bright sword boldly he spoke:

"Have done Sir, now deal with me no more! The debt is paid"

The green Knight stood off far from him yet still stout and stern saying

"Fearless Knight on this field do not be so fierce a foe.

A hack I promised you, and you have had it so I hold you content.

I made another trial for you this morning to test your metal,

For it is my weeds you wear, that woven girdle, awarded by my wife!

Hidden from her husband it was a secret shame that cut you deep."

Then the good knight was indeed shamed by his secret and swore

"For your girdle please god may I repay you with good will,

I shall turn to it often as a token of my trespass

Recalling the failure and frailty of my flesh when I ride in renown,

And every knight of Arthur's hall shall have about him

A band of bright green as a badge in Remembrance of me."

**Vocabulary**

**All Hallow's Eve**: 31st of October. The beginning of winter in England.

**Armour**: metal clothes worn by a knight to protect him from injury in battle.

**Arthur**: A mythical king of England. He pulled the magic sword Excalibur from a stone to become king and brought together the Knights of the Round Table, a group of the best and bravest knights, to fight evil. Stories about Arthur and his knights were very popular when this poem was written.

**Baron**: A rich and powerful man, usually a relative of the king.

**Barrow**: An ancient burial place where a pile of Earth is raised over the grave. Sometimes thought to be a place of magic.

**Bridge**: A gate let down from the door of a castle so that visitors can cross the moat.

**Camelot**: The name of Arthur's castle.

**Castle**: A strong house with big walls. The home of a knight.

**Chapel**: a small church sometimes only used by one person, often a knight.

**Court**: The servants, officials, and followers of a lord or king. Can also be another name for the king's house.

**Courtesy**: the rules of good behaviour that a knight must follow.

**Dale**: A green valley with a river at the bottom. A fertile place.

**Fells**: Mountains.

**Fiend** or fairy of ill intent: an evil spirit.

**Gallant**: Brave and fearless. A Protector of the weak, women and children.

**Gawain**: One of the Knight's of the round table, the best and bravest knights who served King Arthur. Traditionally a very brave and honourable man and an example to others.

**Girdle**: a woman's decorated belt often given to knights as a good luck charm in battle.

**Gringolet**: The name of Gawain's horse. The knight's horse was his most valuable possession. Horses would wear armour to protect them in battle, and a knight's horse was supposed to be brave and fearless like its rider.

**Grove**: a small clearing in a forest. A beautiful place.

**Hall**: another name for a big house.

**Helm**: Helmet. A metal hat made to protect a knight's head in battle.

**Hospitality**: The tradition of welcoming a stranger into your house.

**Knight**: A fighter who has promised to serve the king, uphold the law, and fight against evil.

**Mansion**: A very big house.

**Middle Earth**: The place we live in this life. Above the Earth is heaven and below the Earth is hell. Earth is in the middle between heaven and hell.

**Moat**: A ditch filled with water dug around a house to defend it.

**Moors**: Wild and uncultivated land.

**Ogres**: Strong and violent giants thought to live on the mountain tops in remote parts of England.

**Token or favour**: a small thing given by a woman to a knight as a good luck charm in battle.

**Trespass**: a wrongful act. A sin.

**Worms**: An old name for a Dragon. A fire breathing monster. A symbol of evil.


End file.
